Buffalo Bills Owner Ralph Wilson Dies

Ralph Wilson, longtime Buffalo Bills owner, died at his home Tuesday afternoon (March 25). He was 95.

Franchise president Russ Brandon made the announcement at the NFL owners meetings in Orlando, Fla. “It’s tough. It’s very tough,” he said. “I worked for him for 18 years and talked to him every day for 18 years — sometimes multiple times a day.”

Wilson was the founder and sole owner of the Bills after establishing the team with the upstart AFL in 1960. He played a key role in the league’s merger with the NFL, and was inducted into the Football Hall of Fame in 2009.

Wilson died at his home in Grosse Pointe Shores, Mich., around 1:40 p.m. He had been receiving in-home hospice care.